Misunderstanding

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills.


Warnings: Angst, Slash,


Rating: FRT


* indicates thoughts


Misunderstanding
Chapter 20

Luke was in the hayloft late the next day when L.B.'s truck pulled into the yard, and he saw his cousin get out. He watched as Bo walked around to the driver's side of the truck and gave L.B. a long kiss good-bye. Seeing the two of them like this, he was reminded of the tender way L.B. had comforted Bo after his heart had been ripped out by his best friend. *How could I not see the love they have for each other? How could I make Bo think that he was doing something wrong, dirty even?* He asked himself yet again, feeling lower than a snake's belly when he thought about the way he'd acted. Luke saw L.B. leave as Jesse greeted Bo with a hug and a smile. He couldn't help wondering how his uncle could be so accepting of the change in his cousin, when he didn't seem to be able to.


"You sure you want to stay here Bo?" L.B. asked as his lover came up to his side of the truck.


"It's not about want exactly L.B., it's more that I need to stay here. I love you for worrying about me, but you don't need to. I'll be fine, I have to show Luke that I won't let his bigotry run me out of my own home or cost me my family. Like Uncle Jesse said, this is my home too and Luke's going to have to deal with that."


"Alright, but you remember if you decide you want to leave or ya just need a break, I'm just a phone call away."


"I'll remember," Bo agreed, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his lover's lips. "You're coming over tommorrow to pick me up for therapy, right?"


"I'll be here, sooner if ya need me," L.B. assured him. "Guess I better get going, love you angel," he said, pulling Bo forward for one more kiss. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss, and putting the truck in gear, he slowly drove away. Watching his lover in the rearview mirror, he prayed that Bo wouldn't be hurt again by his cousin.


"This mean you're staying?" Jesse asked, stepping up to stand next to his nephew.


"Yeah," Bo confirmed.


"Good," Jesse said as he threw a comforting arm across his nephew's shoulders. Turning them towards the house, he led the way inside. Stepping into the kitchen, he moved away, allowing Daisy to wrap her cousin in a fierce hug.


"Hey Daisy," Bo greeted, returning the hug as the warmth of her love made him feel welcome. Glancing into the living room, he wondered where his oldest cousin was and what Luke's reaction to his presence would be? Pulling away from Daisy, he looked at his uncle, "Um, where's Luke?" he reluctantly asked.


"He's outside, you want me to get him?"


"No, that's okay," Bo answered, relieved that he wouldn't have to face Luke yet. "So, have the chores been done yet?" he asked, determined to behave as he always had done.


"Your's are," Jesse told him.


"Now Uncle Jesse, I don't want to be given special treatment just cause..."


"It ain't that Bo," Jesse denied. "The chores you're able to do right now have already been done that's all. Don't you worry sprout, I'll make sure you have plenty to do tommorrow," he assured him with a grin.


"Well don't expect to hear this again real soon about chores, but thanks Uncle Jesse," Bo said, unable to resist the chance to tease his uncle.


"Oh I won't boy," Jesse retorted, ruffling the younger man's hair as he moved towards the back door. "Well I'm gonna go finish up the chores now, maybe ya could help Daisy with supper," he suggested.


"Daisy?" Bo asked, giving his cousin a quizzical look.


"I've got it under control, but you could set the table for me."


"Okay," he agreed, stepping over to the cabinets and taking out four plates. As he placed the plates on the table, he sadly put his on the opposite side of the table from Luke, not sure if his cousin would be willing to sit next to him. Refusing to give in to the sadness he felt, Bo shook his head and moved to the silverware drawer as he continued to set the table.


Daisy tried not to let Bo see that she noticed his hesitance as he put his own plate opposite of Luke's. Turning back to the stove, she fought the urge to burn Luke's pork chop, telling herself it wasn't right to waste food that way.


"Anything else I can do?" Bo asked when he finished.


"No honey, thank you," Daisy replied, giving him a quick glance and a small smile over her shoulder.


"Guess I'll just go get cleaned up then."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Luke, come on down from there," Jesse ordered as he stepped into the barn.


"Yes sir," Luke obeyed his uncle, knowing he was on thin ice with the older man.


"I know you were probably watching when L.B. brought Bo home. I just want you to know, he's staying here and you better not make him feel unwelcome in his own home."


"I won't Uncle Jesse, I promise. I don't want to be at odds with Bo, he's my baby cousin and I love him."


"You sure got a funny way of showing it," Jesse gruffly observed.


"I know I messed up Uncle Jesse, and I'm trying to figure out why I acted like that. I will figure it out though, and I'll find a way to make things right with Bo," Luke assured his uncle.


Jesse gave his nephew an intense look, finally seeing what he needed, he gave a short nod. "I know you will," he said, letting Luke know that he still had faith in him and his determination. "Well come on, we still got some chores to finish before supper."


"Yes sir."


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Supper that evening was the most strained that had ever been eaten in the Duke household. Daisy and Jesse tried to keep up a normal conversation, but soon gave up as both boys sat pushing their food around on the plates in front of them.


Bo tried to eat, determined to act normally, but soon found he couldn't. Between the thick lump in his throat and the knots in his stomach, the few bites he managed to get down simply sat like stones in his gut. Finally he gave up, unable to eat with Luke so physically close, but for the first time he could remember, emotionally distant. "Uncle Jesse, could I be excused?"


"You haven't eaten hardly anything Bo."


"I know, just not very hungry," he softly said.


"Alright," Jesse reluctantly gave his permission.


Only a few minutes after Bo left the table, Luke made his own request to be excused.


"You ain't planning to waylay your cousin are ya?" Jesse demanded.


"No sir," Luke assured. He was hurt that his uncle would doubt him, but he could sure understand it.


"You're excused then."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Luke woke up with a start, covered with cold sweat, his heart racing from the nightmare he'd had. Glancing over at Bo's bed, he was relieved to see the younger man sleeping there. The dream was so real, he had almost believed that he had driven Bo away from home. Quietly climbing out of the bed, he stripped the sweat soaked sheets from the bed. Grabbing some clean boxers, he went into the bathroom for a quick shower.


*Why did I act like that? Why did I say something so nasty to Bo? I love him, so how could I be so hateful to him?* Luke stood under the spray of water, his thoughts racing as he tried to figure out what was at the bottom of his nasty behavior. Finishing his shower, he had made some progress, but knew that he still didn't have the answer he needed. Toweling off, he pulled on his clean boxers and grabbing clean sheets went back to the room he shared with Bo. As quietly as possible, he remade the bed and crawling back between the clean, dry sheets, he tried to relax.


"Luke, you okay?"


Luke jumped slightly, the soft voice taking him by surprise. "Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to wake ya."


"It's okay," Bo said, hiding his disappointment at his cousin's lie.


"Well, goodnight Bo," Luke sleepily murmurred, turning on his side and closing his eyes. He faked sleep, unable to face his cousin.


"Goodnight," came the mumbled reply. Bo lay in his own bed, listening to his cousin, knowing by his breathing that he wasn't sleeping. *Lord how are we gonna fix this if Luke won't even talk to me?* he wondered as he lay there, unable to relax enough to sleep himself.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The next morning, shortly after breakfast, L.B. arrived to take Bo to Tri-County. "Jesse, Daisy, is Bo ready?" he asked, standing on the back porch.


"He just went to grab his wallet, come on in son."


"Nah, that's okay, I'll just wait out here," L.B. declined.


"Hey L.B.," Bo greeted his lover as he stepped between Jesse and Daisy.


"You ready?" L.B. asked, barely resisting the urge to kiss Bo, knowing it would make his family uncomfortable.


"Yeah," Bo replied. "Bye Daisy, Uncle Jesse, I'll be home this afternoon."


Walking out to the truck, he climbed into the cab, giving his lover a smile as he slid behind the wheel.


"You okay angel?" L.B. asked the moment they were alone.


"Yeah," came the quiet response.


"You sure? Ya look tired," the worried observation.


"Luke woke up in the middle of the night, I think he had a bad dream. He wouldn't tell me though, then he pretended to go back to sleep..."


"You knew he was awake though and you couldn't sleep, right?"


"Yeah, I'm trying not to let him get to me, but I can't help being tense and scared."


Pulling the truck to the side of the road, L.B. put it in park and turned to his lover. "Do you think Luke is gonna hurt ya?"


"Not really, at least not physically. I keep expecting Daisy and Uncle Jesse to decide Luke's right and that I'm doing something wrong. I know they probably won't, but I guess I'm just afraid that they'll side with Luke and throw me out."


"Aw Bo, you know they ain't gonna do that, but if they did you'd have a place with me," L.B. assured him.


"I know," Bo acknowledged. Leaning forward to give his lover a kiss, he sent up a silent prayer of thanks for L.B.'s love. "Guess we better get going, don't want to be late," he suggested as he pulled away.

"Yeah, we better," L.B. agreed as he put the truck into gear and pulled back onto the road.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


For the next several days, life remained tense and strained at the Duke farm as Bo and Luke tiptoed around each other. Bo tried to stay hopeful, but it didn't seem as though his cousin was making any effort to fix the problem between them. If it had only affected him, he wouldn't have minded nearly as much, but the way it was hurting his uncle and Daisy couldn't be allowed to go on. With that in mind, Bo went in search of his cousin, determined to settle this once and for all.


"Bo," Luke acknowledged as his cousin stepped into the barn.


"We need to talk Luke."


"I'm not ready..."


"I don't care, things can't go on the way they have been. Now you're gonna tell me just why you basically accused me of enjoying being raped!"


"I didn't say that," Luke quickly protested.


"Didn't you?"


"Well I didn't mean it like that."


"The hell you didn't," Bo insisted, refusing to let his cousin off the hook.


"What do ya want me to say Bo? I can't tell you that I'm happy to see you with L.B., but I am sorry for the way I acted."


"You know what I want Luke, I want to know why you were so nasty?" Bo demanded, shoving his cousin backwards.


"Don't be shoving me," Luke ordered, pushing his younger cousin against the wall of the barn.


"I'll do more than shove ya if you don't start talking," came the snarled threat.


"I can't tell ya what I don't know," Luke insisted. He quickly looked away from his cousin, afraid the younger man would see the truth in his eyes.


"You figured it out, didn't ya?" Bo fought to control his quick temper when Luke only shook his head and began to walk away. "Why are ya lying to me Luke? Do you hate me that much?"


"I don't hate ya Bo, I'm sorry that I made ya think that," Luke tiredly replied. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to his cousin knowing that he owed him the truth. "The truth is I don't like what I figured out, don't like what it says about me."


"What is it that you don't like?"


"I been thinking about it Bo, hell can't hardly think about anything else. I've even had nightmares about it and I finally figured out why I acted like that."


"Why?" Bo asked when Luke didn't continue.


"Well at first I thought it was because I was afraid of you being hurt if you were with L.B.. I mean you'd already been hurt because some men thought you were gay, so what would happen to you if you really are gay?"


"I'm not gay Luke, I'm still attracted to women but I fell in love with L.B., I just wish you could accept that. I ain't asking you to be happy about it, just to accept our relationship."


"I'm working on it cousin," Luke assured him.


"So you were nasty cause you were afraid of what would happen to me?"


"No, but that's what I tried to tell myself. The more I thought about it though, I realized that wasn't it, or not all of the problem. I figured out that fear was the reason I acted like that, but it wasn't really fear for you, if was fear for myself."


"I don't understand," Bo said, confused by his cousin's words.


"I'm afraid Bo, afraid that some of the good ol' boys around here will decide that if you're gay, then so am I. I'm scared that the girls will stop wanting to date me, or that people will start thinking you and me are doing something together that we shouldn't be. But what really scares me the most is that I'll lose you, that you won't be the Bo Duke I know."


"What do you think's gonna happen Luke? Ya think cause I fell in love with L.B. I'm gonna start wanting to go see the ballet and stop racing? Think about it cousin, if I hadn't fallen in love with him, you still wouldn't know that L.B. is gay."


"I hadn't thought of that," Luke admitted. "Guess it ain't something I need to worry about," he said with a chuckle, as he tried to picture his youngest cousin at the ballet.


"Look at Ray Miller, he's a cop and he's gay. You think he'd be able to serve on the force if the other cops knew he was gay? Being bi-sexual don't mean I'm gonna change who I am Luke," Bo assured his cousin. "The only change is that I fell in love with a man instead of a woman. I don't know where exactly this is headed with L.B., but I hope that he'll be the only lover I'll have from here on out."


"It's that serious?"


"Yeah," Bo replied, feeling suddenly shy.


"I didn't realize..."


"You thought I was just fooling around with him?"


"I didn't know what to think Bo. I mean, you ain't never been attracted to a man before and after what Mark Dawson did to ya, I sure never thought ya'd be with a man."


"Actually Luke I have been attracted to a guy at least once before L.B., it was when I was seventeen. Nothing happened and I had forgotten about it, until I realized I was falling in love, that's when it came back to me."


"How long have the two of ya...?"


"I figured it out the day that me and L.B. were attacked, I told him how I felt while he was in the hospital."


"I'm sorry that I let my fear get the better of me, I had no right to hurt you like that," Luke sincerely apologized.


"So now what?"


"Now? I'll do my best to accept it, cause I ain't about to let my fears cost me the best friend I've ever had, or ever could have. I just hope that someday you and L.B. can forgive me."


"I can't speak for L.B., but I think he'll give you another chance once I tell him that I forgive ya," Bo said, holding out his hand.


Taking two steps forward, Luke took the offered hand. "Thank you, I know I don't deserve it but I'll make sure ya don't regret it."


"You did what I asked ya to, so how could I not forgive ya?" Bo responded as he pulled his cousin forward into a quick hug. Drawing back, he grinned in relief, thrilled that for the first time since Luke's ugly words he felt like he had his cousin back by his side. He knew that his next words might destroy the new found peace between them, but he wouldn't lie and there was no point in delaying. "There is one thing you should know Luke."


"What's that?"


"Me and L.B. ain't gonna hide our relationship anymore. We don't plan to make some kind of big announcement, but we're going to dinner tommorrow night, just like any other couple."


"You sure that's a good idea?" Luke asked, and Bo was pleased to hear only concern in his voice.


"I don't know, but we want to be able to go out without having to pretend we're just friends. I thought you should be warned cause you'll probably hear about it."


"Alright, thanks for the heads up," he said. Luke had known that at some point he might have to prove that he was sincere in his apolgy, but he hadn't expected it this soon. Not wanting to lose the calm between them, he took a deep breath and threw one arm over Bo's shoulders. "Right now though, I think I hear a peach pie calling our names, what do ya say?"


"Sounds good cousin," Bo replied. Grinning broadly, he let his oldest cousin lead the way as they headed inside to con Daisy out of some pie.


TBC


Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I know Bo and L.B. weren't in it much, but they should be next chapter. Please review and let me know what ya think.